Pay the Rent – Rory Vaden (Self-Discipline Strategist, Author & Entrepreneur)

 

Rory Vaden is a man with a lot of accomplishments behind his name. He’s a Self-Discipline Strategist, an award-winning entrepreneur, and a world leader in defining the psychology around modern procrastination. He is the Co-Founder of Southwestern Consulting, Founder of The Center for the Study of Self-Discipline, and author of the New York Times #1 Bestseller Take the Stairs.
He’s a man who practices what he preaches, and in his inspirational Paper Napkin, Rory preaches the rent axiom: Success is never owned, success is only rented, and the rent is due every day. It’s a sentiment with broad applications and as Rory points out, the statement is one that remains true, no matter what word or focus point you choose to replace ‘success’ with.
Rory’s perspective is one that centers on ideas of focus, hard work, and self-management. Whatever your problems are, he says, they are not your problems. You are your problem, but don’t worry, you are also your own solution.  Rory warns us not to be overwhelmed by this idea, he says it’s easy to say “It’s too much, it’s too big, I can’t do it”, but you need to focus on what you can do today. Focus is power, he says, choose one area you want to work on and focus on that for a season before going on to the next thing; you’ll find everything is interconnected and as you begin to succeed in one area, that success spills over into the others. To return to the metaphor: The more rent you pay in one part of your life, the more resources you free up to pay rent elsewhere.
Rory’s message is an important one, not just for us as entrepreneurs, but for daily life. It boils down to something very simple, the knowledge that putting in the work in the short term makes for an easier long term experience. It’s an essential idea, and one that shouldn’t be forgotten.
Listen to the conversation with Rory here:

You can get his book, Take the Stairs, here.